Sunburst Meets Frost: Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept Frosted Gold Flying Tourbillon


Swiss haute horlogerie manufacturer Audemars Piguet has introduced a new take on its women’s Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon, which continues the theme — established in the brand’s 2018 Carolina Bucci Limited Edition Royal Oak Frosted Gold — of interweaving refined feminine aesthetics with complicated micro-mechanics.

The dial’s four sunburst blue circles, increasing in size with hues of blue, emanate from the flying tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock.

The new Royal Oak Concept Frosted Gold Flying Tourbillon is available in either an 18k rose-gold or 18k white-gold case. The watch, with a shimmering “frosted gold” finish and a contemporary dial composed of multiple layers, is the latest piece to emerge from Audemars Piguet’s collaboration with Florentine jewelry designer Carolina Bucci. Describing the first Frosted Gold timepiece for WatchTime in 2018, Bucci said, “I took the perfection of the Royal Oak case and bracelet and ‘roughed them up’ a little, juxtaposing the perfectly imperfect Florentine finish with Swiss watchmaking precision.” 

This model is the first to offer the “frosted gold” motif— an ancient Florentine jewelry technique — on the sculptural, multifaceted Royal Oak Concept case. The tiny indentations on the gold surface, similar to those of its “diamond dust” predecessor, are created with a diamond-tipped tool, to give a “sparkle” effect like that of precious stones, another process that dates back to ancient Florence.

The flying tourbillon cage features an openworked gold-tone circle topped with brilliant-cut diamonds.

The dial is composed of four blue-colored circles of increasing size and brightening hues, emanating from the flying tourbillon cage at 6 o’clock. The sunburst motif further accentuates the dial’s depth. At the heart of the flying tourbillon cage is an openworked gold-tone circle topped with brilliant-cut diamonds. The dial features no hour-markers to “enhance the purity of this contemporary design,” according to Audemars Piguet.

Inside the 38.5-mm-diameter case (its predecessor measures 37 mm in diameter) is the manually-wound manufacture Caliber 2964. At a diameter of 29.5 mm, the movement contains 207 components, including 17 jewels, beats at a frequency of 3 Hz (21,600-vph) and holds a minimum power reserve of 72 hours. The case’s crown, set with a translucent sapphire cabochon (a gemstone that is shaped and polished), secures its water-resistant to 20 meters.

The manually winding flying tourbillon Caliber 2964, with its circular motif matching the design of the dial, is on display behind a sapphire caseback.

The movement’s circular motif is visible through the sapphire crystal caseback and alternates between sandblasted and satin-brushing that echoes the finishes of the “frosted gold” case and sunburst dial. The two models are finished with a dark blue alligator strap, with large square scales, and include an additional blue-textured rubber strap featuring a constellation motif. Each strap’s folding clasp matches the “frosted gold” of its case. The Royal Oak Concept Flying Tourbillon is priced at CHF 145,000 and can only be purchased from Audemars Piguet boutiques.

For more information on Audemars Piguet‘s 2020 novelties, click here.

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  1. Jonny Herman

    I want to order this very beautiful watch. Diamater is 38.5mm. Please tell me the overall size of the watch. Tq

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